Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960– March 6, 2006) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire major-league career with the Minnesota Twins from 1984 to 1995. He is the Twins franchise's all-time leader (1961-present) in career hits, runs, doubles and total bases. His .318 career batting average was the highest by any right-handed American League batter in the second half of the 20th century.
Puckett was the fourth baseball pla...
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Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960– March 6, 2006) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire major-league career with the Minnesota Twins from 1984 to 1995. He is the Twins franchise's all-time leader (1961-present) in career hits, runs, doubles and total bases. His .318 career batting average was the highest by any right-handed American League batter in the second half of the 20th century.
Puckett was the fourth baseball player during the 20th century to record 1,000 hits in his first five full calendar years in Major League Baseball, and one of only two to record 2,000 hits during his first ten full calendar years. After being forced to retire at age 35 due to loss of vision in one eye from glaucoma, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility.
In 2006 Puckett suffered a stroke at his home in Arizona. He died the next day. At the age of 45, Puckett became the second youngest retired player in the Baseball Hall of Fame to...
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